Logistic Information for the Symposium Conectados al Sur: Costa Rica

Welcome to Conectados al Sur Costa Rica!

We are so glad to have you as a participant on the third regional symposium “Conectados al Sur: Costa Rica 2018”.

We hope your stay will be extremely pleasant. Here there is a short guide to help you with some useful information for your arrival and stay in Costa Rica.

Arrival to Costa Rica

In order to enter the country, every passenger have to check in at the Migration Offices at the Juan Santamaria International Airport. In Costa Rica, there is another international airport (Daniel Oduber Quirós), but it is located at more tan 124 miles (200 km) to the city of San José, so we do not recommend you to use it.

At the Juan Santamaria International Airport, every visitor should show up their identity documents: a valid passport and/or visa (if required). Also, if it is the case, the person should bring their ICV too.

Costa Rica only requires a visa to citizens of a few countries. It is your responsibility to check if you need it and apply for it in time. You can read more about it here.

Vaccination certificate

Costa Rican government request its visitors to get vaccinated against yellow fever to the people from this countries:

Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan.

South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela. It does not include Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina.

Caribbean: French Guiana.

If you come from one the countries listed before, you should bring your International Certificate of Vaccination (CIV). This document is valid ten (10) days after your vaccination and it is valid up to ten (10) years.

You can check this website if you want to know more about immigration issues.

Symposium Venue

The symposium will take place on the Omar Dengo Foundation’s facilities. The Omar Dengo Foundation (FOD) is a non-profit organization, with the aim of developing people’s capabilities through innovative educational methodologies, supported by the use of new technologies.

Here is the directions to ODF’s facilities: 0.18 mi (300 m) east and 0.03 mi (50 m) south from the former Matute Gómez House, in San José Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 2527 – 6000.

The closing of the event will be hosted by the Mass Communications School of the University of Costa Rica (www.eccc.ucr.ac.cr). It is located on the first floor of the Social Sciences Faculty, at a place named Research Campus (Ciudad de la Investigación).

We will take you from the ODF’s facilities to the Research Campus. However, you can check the directions on Google Maps.

Air transport and housing

Every participant will assume the costs of their transportation and lodging. Your flight should arrive to the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San José, Costa Rica.

If you want to stay at an Airbnb place, the best locations would be San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Los Yoses, Barrio Escalante, Barrio Dent or Barrio González Lahmann.

Here, there is a list of closest hotels to the venue of the event. It is important to say that January is high season in Costa Rica, so hotel reservations should be made as soon as possible. Many hotels are already full booked.

Hotel	Location	Distance from the ODF	Phone number	e-mail	Fees
Balmoral Hotel	Central Avenue, between 7 & 9 St., San José, Costa Rica.	10 minutes on car	(506) 2222-5022	reservas@balmoral.co.cr	From $83,62 to $174,02
Aurora Holliday Inn	Central Avenue, between 7 & 9 St., San José, Costa Rica	9 minutes on car	(506) 2523-1000	info@aurolahotels.com	From $89,27 to $157,07
Tairona Hotel	0.05 mi (or 75 m) west from the San Pedro Taco Bell, in Barrio Dent.	7 minutes on car	(506) 2234-0146	info@taironainn.com	From $76,84 (single room) to $89,27 (double room)
Ave del Paraíso Hotel	0.03 mi (or 50 m) south from the first entry to Los Yoses, San Pedro.	5 minutes on car	(506) 2225-8515 2283-6017 2253-5138	info@hotelavedelparaiso.com	From $67,80 (a standard single room) to $79,10 (standart double room). You can get a 10 % discount if you pay in cash.
Le Bergerac Hotel	0.03 mi (or 50 m) north from the University of Costa Rica’s Faculty of Law	4 minutes on car	(506) 2234-7850	reservations@bergerachotel.com	From $67,8 (single room) to $79,1 (double room)
Jade Hotel	0.15 mi (or 250 m) north from Autos Subarú in Barrio Dent, Los Yoses, San Pedro, Costa Rica.	5 minutes on car	(506) 2224-2455	info@hotelboutiquejade.com natalia@hotelboutiquejade.com	$100 a single room (it includes Breakfast Buffet)

Transportation from the airport to your lodgment

We recommend you to use a taxi in order to get from the airport to the city of San José. It cost will be around $35 or 20.000 colones.

You will see two different kind of taxis. The airport authorizes Taxis Unidos Aeropuerto Juan Santamaría to take you right from the location to your lodging (orange color) (http://www.taxiaeropuerto.com/index.php?lang=en). Any other official taxi in the city of San José are of red color.

It is possible to get an Uber to a lower cost, but the Costa Rican government has declared its operation as illegal. It will be safer it you sit at the copilot’s seat.

Meals

The organization will provide you lunchs, coffe breaks and snacks, as well as the closing cocktail during the two days of the symposium.

Currency

The Colón is the official currency in Costa Rica. The exchange rate fluctuates depending on the banking entity. We recommend you to be guided by Banco Nacional: https://www.bncr.fi.cr/BNCR/TipoCambio.aspx

In November, 2017, the exchange rate was

1 USD = 574.39 CRC

1 CRC = 0.0017 USD

If you bring dollars, you can change them easily to colones in any bank.

You can pay in dollars at many local restaurants and tourism spots, but they accept them at a lower price. We do not suggest you to use the airport’s exchange services for the same reason.

Electronic devices

We invite you to bring your own laptop. In Costa Rica, the common voltage is 120 volts. Its frequency is 60 Hz. Many electric outlets are type A or be, so you may need an adapter. They look like this:


Type A	Type B
Japanese outlets can be used in the USA but not the other way.	Sometimes they’re valid to type A outlets.

Other considerations

Climate

January marks the start of Costa Rican dry season. During this time, there are sunny days and scarce rain.

The Central Valley and San José have the best climate in the country. The average temperature is 22 Celsius degrees (or 71.6 Fahrenheit degrees). You will feel the warm breeze that comes from the coast.

On Costa Rican highlands, the temperature is up to 13 Celsius degrees (or 55.4 Fahrenheit degrees). If you move to the beaches and cities at the sea level, the temperature is 28 Celsius degrees (or 78.8 Fahrenheit degrees) on average.

Medical insurance and disclaimer

Every assistant should get their medical insurance prior to arrive at San José. “Conectados al Sur” and its organization will not be responsible for that.

Tourism

Costa Rica is one of the most attractive touristic destinations in the world.

Being that the symposium will be on Monday and Tuesday, we suggest you to extend your trip and have the opportunity to visit Costa Rican beaches, forest and National Parks. Costa Rica is one of the wealthiest nations in the word in terms of biodiversity: it hosts 5 % of the world’s plants and animal species.

In the following links, you will find touristic information. You can ask us too if you want to know more.

Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT in Spanish)

http://www.ict.go.cr/en/

Go visit Costa Rica

https://www.govisitcostarica.co.cr/

Go Playa

https://goplaya.cr/

PCV Travel Agency

http://www.pcvtravel.com/

Contacts

If you need any information and help with logistics, you can ask to any member of the local organization team:

Lorna Chacón